Sledging In Tennis?

After noticing that people are still giving Nick Kygrios a hard time over his sledging incident I though I’d revisit the whole sledging thing. This is even though I wrote the post Nick Kyrgios Sledging Un-Australian. Most of the sledging in that post involved cricket so for today’s post I thought I’d have a look to see if there’s any sledging in tennis. Other than the Nick’s infamous ‘banging your girlfriend’ one.

The first one I managed to find involved Pat Cash.

Here is an excerpt from Uncovered: The Autobiography of Pat Cash: “Boris (Becker) beat me in straight sets (quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 1988) and even had the cheek to play the fool. On one point I ran to a mishit drop volley and fell over the net. Making the most of my misfortune, he thought it would be fun to run and plaunge over the net as well. He thought it was hilarious and the crowd seemed to like the joke but the humour was lost on me… I resorted to some time-honoured Aussie sledging.

Merv Hughes would have been proud of me as I eyeballed Boris before informing him: “You’re a fucking smartarse Kraut!” Did I regret it? Not at the time but I do cringe at the memory.”

So, not only did he use the F bomb, he also used what some people would consider a racist term. In my opinion it’s somewhat worse than Nick’s banging reference.

I even found another article where Pat Cash recommends that there was more sledging in tennis as he reckons that would make tennis more exciting. I reckon he’s right on this one.

Nick-Kyrgios Sledging in TennisMcEnroe is famous for his picturesque tirades which were normally hurled at umpires or linesmen. There was one time though  when a Czech opponent mistakenly hit him with a tennis ball and McEnroe told him: “You’ll be sorry you hit me you fucking communist asshole.”

Once again, we have the F bomb followed by what could be called a racial slur.

You know, apart from tennis players abusing umpires, ballboys and the like there’s not much out there about actual shenanigans on court. Sure there’s sledging (mind games) happening off court but not much on record of it happening during game play. The other thing to remember is that they didn’t have access to social media in those days. Social media can virtually crucify a person on line and if you ask me a lot of the stuff on social media is nothing but #bullshit!

I’m sure that it used to happen but because of the lack of mikes in those days there’s no record of it. I’m sure its those very same mikes that keep our tennis players in check today. Unfortunately for Nick he let a momentary lack of judgement get the best of him. I’m sure he knows better now and has learned from his mistake.

Advice For Nick Kyrgios

If I had any advice for Nick Kyrgios it would be this. Don’t let all the negativity out there get you down. Accept what you’ve done, put it behind you and get on with your tennis.

Oh, and don’t be an wanker when you’re on the court. Show everyone you have what it takes to be a champion. The best way to do that is to play great tennis. You want people to remember you for that and not for any crazy on court antics.

Nick Kyrgios Sledging Un-Australian

Nick Kyrgios SledgingThere’s been a lot of hype around about the Nick Kyrgios sledging saga and I want to way in on it. In case you’ve just come out of the closet and have missed it all it’s all about Nick Kyrgios sledging Stan Wawrinka during their match in Montreal. So what did Kyrgios say that has everybody jumping up and down? I’m glad you asked.  :tongue_out: After losing the first set he was heard to say, “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that mate.” Apparently this caused an immediate uproar over social media. Really?  :bash:

Some were even saying that the Nick Kyrgios sledging was un-Australian! That brought a smile to my face. Shit, we all know that some of the best sledges around have originated with us Aussies. Especially when concerning cricket! Let’s have a look at some of those famous sledges so we have something to compare the Nick Kyrgios sledging to.

Nick Kyrgios Sledging vs Famous Sledging

Famous Sledging

One well known sledge took place between Rod Marsh and Ian Botham in an Ashes match. When Botham arrives at the wicket he cops a bit of cheek from the Aussie keeper. Marsh : “So how’s your wife and my kid’s?”. Botham: “Wife’s fine. Kid’s are retarded“. Seems to me that sledge was more provoking than the Kyrgios one. The only difference being that Botham could take the sledge and came back with one of his own.

Then there is the interesting dialogue between Merv Hughes and Viv Richards. this happened during a test match in Jamaica. It all started because Hughes continued to stare at Richards after every delivery never speaking a word. This eventually got to Viv Richards who finally says to Merv, “Don’t you be staring at me, man. This is my island, my culture. And in my culture we just bowl“. Hughes replied with a ripper : “In my culture we just say fuck off“. I reckon that expletive beats Nick Kyrgios sledging of Wawrinka hands down.

Then there is the sledging between Mark Waugh and Adam Parore. Waugh: “I remember you from a couple of years ago. You were shit then and you’re fucken useless now!”. To which Parore replied: “Yeah that’s me. And I remember you were dating that old, ugly slut. I see you’ve married her now. You dumb cunt”. Once again, in typical sledging banter Adam came back with a beautiful reply and as you can see once again this sledging between these cricketers is a hell of a lot more colourful than the Nick Kyrgios sledging!

You can see these and other famous sledging on Top 20 Cricket Sledges. Oh, just so you know the no.1 sledge was the one between Viv Richards & Greg Thomas at a county match in England, Because Richards was missing so many of the balls Thomas was bowling he calls out, “It’s red, it’s round. Now fucken hit it!”.Obviously angered, Richards proceeded to hit the next ball out of the ground. Richards then calls out, “You know what it looks like now go and get it.”

So, why all the uproar? And why would anyone say that sledging is un-Australian when so many Australians are famous for their sledges and it’s not even limited to us Aussies. Or is it because sledging is new to tennis and they’re just a bunch of pussies who aren’t man enough to handle it?

Remember that the main reason for sledging is to put people off their game. The Nick Kyrgios sledging seemed to work because Kyrgios won that game.

OK, so maybe one shouldn’t use sledging in tennis. Nick tried it and got booed to buggery, not to mention the fine. Nick’s young and is bound to make mistakes. To call him un-Australian and to ask for a 3 year suspension is beyond belief. In my opinion Warinka should grow some balls and learn how to take a little sledging and show the world that tennis players, like cricketers and other famous sportsmen, are not pussies!

If you’re looking for some more interesting sledges you should check out this site which has some rippers!

I’d love to hear your comments on this subject.